Sennett, Mack (sĕn`ĭt), 1884–1960, American movie director and producer, b. Danville, Que. In 1909 he began working for D. W. Griffith Griffith, D. W. (David Wark Griffith), 1880–1948, American movie director and producer, b. La Grange, Ky. Griffith was the first major American film director. He began his film career as an actor and a scenario writer in 1908 with the Biograph Company.
..... Click the link for more information. at the Biograph Company, and in 1912 he organized his own Keystone Company. Sennett's films, rarely more than one or two reels long, were slapstick comedies noted for their fantastic chases and custard pie warfare. His Keystone cops and bathing beauties became American institutions. In 1916 he became the third producer of the Triangle Corporation with D. W. Griffith and Thomas Ince. The Keystone Company, after some years of difficulty, went bankrupt in 1933.
(born Jan. 17, 1880, Richmond, Que., Can.—died Nov. 5, 1960, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. film director. He performed in burlesque and vaudeville before joining the Biograph studio in 1908, and he soon was directing comedies under D.W. Griffith's tutelage. He left to form his own Keystone Co. in 1912. Considered the father of slapstick comedy in motion pictures, he produced the first U.S. feature-length comedy, Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914), and made over 1,000 comedy shorts, often featuring the wild antics of the Keystone Kops. He hired stars such as Mabel Normand, Fatty Arbuckle, and Charlie Chaplin. Important directors such as Frank Capra and George Stevens also received experience under Sennett. Sennett excelled in comic timing, improvisation, and effective editing, and he used trick camera work and high-speed and slow-motion photography to produce his famous comic chase scenes. In 1937 he received a special Academy Award.
Sennett, Mack (b. Michael or Mikall Sinnott) (1880–1960) film director, producer, actor; born in Danville, Quebec, Canada. After appearing on Broadway and in burlesque, he switched to films in 1908. By 1910 he was directing Biograph shorts. A cofounder of Keystone, he made his name with slapstick comedy and later added his skills to romances. The "King of Comedy" received a special Oscar in 1937.
..... Click the link for more information. at the Biograph Company, and in 1912 he organized his own Keystone Company. Sennett's films, rarely more than one or two reels long, were slapstick comedies noted for their fantastic chases and custard pie warfare. His Keystone cops and bathing beauties became American institutions. In 1916 he became the third producer of the Triangle Corporation with D. W. Griffith and Thomas Ince. The Keystone Company, after some years of difficulty, went bankrupt in 1933.
Bibliography
See his autobiography, King of Comedy (1954); G. Fowler, Father Goose (1934).
Sennett, Mack
orig. Michael Sinnott)
Mack Sennett.
(credit: Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art Film Stills Archive, New York)
Sennett, Mack (b. Michael or Mikall Sinnott) (1880–1960) film director, producer, actor; born in Danville, Quebec, Canada. After appearing on Broadway and in burlesque, he switched to films in 1908. By 1910 he was directing Biograph shorts. A cofounder of Keystone, he made his name with slapstick comedy and later added his skills to romances. The "King of Comedy" received a special Oscar in 1937.
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